Water beetles (Coleoptera) of coastal areas of the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra, extreme northeastern Europe

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe fauna of water beetles in coastal areas of the Bolshezemelskaya Tundra and on the Vaygach and Dolgiy islands, Pechora Sea, comprises a total of 42 recorded species; in local faunas, the number of species decreases northward from 19–26 in southern mainland tundra to nine in typical tundra of the Vaygach Island. The faunal similarity between pairs of areas is 21%–52% (39%–52% between mainland areas). The family Haliplidae is represented by three species, Dytiscidae – 32 species, Helophoridae – four species, Hydrophilidae – two species and Hydraenidae – one species. Most of the species have large ranges both longitudinally and latitudinally. Cryophile species are rather few (five species, 12%). There are clear differences between the beetle assemblages of weakly brackish lakes marshes and waterbodies of the bedrock coast. The strongest preferences for particular habitats have been revealed in species associated with sand substrates in waterbodies or with the floodplain of a large river. The male genitalia and male protarsal claws of Agabus luteaster (Zaitzev, 1906), recently recorded as new to Europe, are illustrated for the first time as well as Ochthebius kaninensis Poppius, 1909.